System Recommendations for Student Computers
| Minimum Specifications | Recommended Specifications | |
| 2023-24 | Engineering Students | Engineering Students |
| CPU | Intel i5 (11th generation or newer) | Intel i7 (12th generation or newer) |
| Memory | 12 GB RAM | 16GB RAM |
| Disk | 500GB SSD/M.2 | 500GB - 1TB SSD/M.2 |
| Graphics | Accelerated, Gaming Support 1280 x 1024 resolution | Accelerated, Gaming Support 1920 x 1080 resolution |
| Wireless | Wireless adapter capable of 802.11ac | Wireless adapter capable of 802.11ac |
| Other | HDMI output or HDMI adapter to connect to classroom A/V equipment 1TB external drive recommended for backup and additional storage | HDMI output or HDMI adapter to connect to classroom A/V equipment 1TB external drive recommended for backup and additional storage |
*We generally recommend the purchase of a laptop for most students since this allows them to take the machine to class for note-taking as well as the library for research projects, etc.
**All Microsoft products are available to students enrolled in engineering classes at no charge through the Microsoft Academic Alliance Program. https://azureforeducation.microsoft.com/devtools
Having a single machine that will meet all of your needs for the full four years is difficult to guarantee. During the first two years, you will be taking a variety of general education courses in addition to courses within the major. Many general education courses will only require the use of the Office Suite from Microsoft.
Later in the program, you may need to use more specialized software, perhaps including the installation of other operating systems such as Linux. If you switch majors along the way (such as a move to computer science), the machine requirements may increase.
The computer science and cybersecurity programs have specific requirements.
Computer Science laptop requirements Cybersecurity technology requirements